Reconstructing and comparing area-burned before and after 1900
The 2021 Doagy Fire in the Gila National Forest is an example of a low-severity lightning caused fire managed to reduce fuels and the potential for future high severity fire. Similar to other fires in the Gila National Forest, this fire burned in an area that had burned multiple times in the past three decades and is therefore an example of an area where the natural fire regime has been restored.
We know that fires are getting larger, and that before 1900, frequent fires dominated dry western forests. However, reconstructing historical areas that burned (pre-1900) has always been difficult. To address this challenge, Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists developed a method for studying pre-1900 fires using tree-ring fire scars that they calibrated using recent fire perimeters. This provided a 300-year perspective of area burned, which was used to assess fire size, frequency and area burned over time.
The scientists found that an area within the Gila wilderness where fires have been managed for resource benefit since the 1970s is now burning at a similar rate compared to pre-1900. These results show that the process of frequent fires can be restored at landscape scales to increase forest sustainability. The scientists’ novel method for reconstructing area burned will allow the reconstruction of fire size across larger areas to allow a more in-depth perspective of recent and historical fire regimes.